Artifacts of the Tomb of the Seven Thunders
The Artifacts of the Tomb of the Seven Thunders were recovered by members of each of the Great Clans of Rokugan as well as the Nezumi and Lost from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders during the Battle of the Tomb in 1168. The group who entered the tomb left with several nemuranai and historical artifacts and brought these back to their respective people. It is theorized that these items may have been placed in the Tomb by Shinsei himself to guide the groups to their destinies. The Battle at the Tomb, Part 4, by Shawn Carman and Nancy Sauer The Items The following is a list of the artifacts taken from the Tomb and to which clan they were given. Crab Clan Yasuki Jinn-Kuen returned to the Crab with a book. The Oracle of Jade Omen sensed the presence of the book when it was retrieved from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders, and made his way to Crab lands to advise Hida Kuon on what to do with it. Omen revealed it was the Tao of Fu Leng, an evil book written by the hand of the Dark Kami himself. The book was deemed too dangerous to study as it would corrupt its reader, and too dangerous to destroy as it would unfailingly re-create itself and possibly fall into the hands of the Shadowlands. The book was entrusted to Omen to safeguard it. Dark Knowledge, by Brian Yoon Crane Clan Daidoji Kikaze retrieved a sword from the Tomb, and returned it to Crane Clan Champion Doji Domotai. Asahina Sekawa studied the blade and revealed that it had once been Kakita's Sword, but not the same sword that Kakita had been gifted by Hantei at Kakita's marriage to Doji and which was currently on display at the Kakita Dueling Academy. It was in fact the blade which Kakita carried with him when he first came down from the north of Rokugan and used to beat Matsu to win the Emerald Championship. Doji Nagori advised that it be gifted to one of the finest duelists the Kakita Academy had to offer, but Domotai did not wish to re-open the ancient Matsu blood feud. On the advice of Doji Seishiro, Domotai gave the sword to Doji Nagori. Gifts of the Ancestors, by Nancy Sauer Dragon Clan Mirumoto Rosanjin took a jade mirror from the Tomb, and when Rosanjin remained behind to give the fleeing forces time to escape it was entrusted to Shosuro Aroru to bring to the Dragon Clan. When Aroru returned to Scorpion lands with the item he had retrieved, Soshi Yukimi wished to steal the mirror for the Scorpion and have Aroru meet with an "unfortunate accident", but Bayushi Paneki over-ruled her. Aroru travelled to Dragon lands and presented the mirror to Togashi Satsu and Mirumoto Mareshi. Satsu explained that the Jade Mirror showed the person looking at it their true essence. Satsu seemed to believe that his grandfather Togashi had some knowledge of the mirror. Satsu ordered it taken to the High House of Light to be studied by the Togashi. The Balance of Power, by Shawn Carman Lion Clan Matsu Benika found an urn filled with some ashes. Benika brought the ashes back to Lion lands, and there they were examined by the Kitsu Daimyo Kitsu Katsuko who verified that they were indeed Matsu's Ashes. All the daimyo of the Lion Clan were assembled to pay tribute to the Lion Thunder. For bringing back the ashes Lion Clan Champion Matsu Yoshino gave Benika the honor of wielding Chukandomo. Mantis Clan Tsuruchi Etsui and Yoritomo Katoa retrieved a candle from the tomb. Etsui brought the candle back to the Embassy of the Mantis in Toshi Ranbo and presented it to Yoritomo Yoyonagi. On his journey to the capital Etsui had studied the candle with the shugenja Moshi Amika which revealed the inscription along the candle read; "An extinguished candle offers no light, a lit candle casts no shadow." Distant Thunder, by Shawn Carman Prayers and Treasures, p. 141 The candle was later revealed to be the Candle of Shadows. Candle of Shadows When lit, the candle prevents all attempts at divination at its location, meaning that none can also divine anything at the Candle's location. No one present in the light of the Candle is able to lie. Shadows, by Shawn Carman Etsui also brought back a small silver baton which he was able to conceal from the others in the group. Etsui met up with Shiba Yoma later in a darker part of the capital where he revealed the existance of the baton to his fellow Kolat. Etsui revealed that the baton would separate into two short knives, but would only do so for him. Etsui also mentioned that the Emperor had spoken to him regarding the heir to the throne mere moments before his death. Etsui later travelled to Ryoko Owari Toshi where he met the Kolat Master Kakita Kyruko. Together they searched the Shrine to Toku, the Fortune of Virtue, discovering that Toturi III had named Kaneka his heir. Kyruko revealed to Etsui that the Kolat planned to make changes to the last will of Toturi Naseru, but that Kaneka would still be revealed as the heir. Virtue, by Brian Yoon Kaneka was killed during the Khan's assault upon the capital in 1169, and it was unknown if the Kolat had in any way released the information contained in the Last Will of Emperor Toturi III. Phoenix Clan Shiba Aikune retrieved an egg from the Tomb. When the fleeing forces were pursued by the oni army Aikune decided to remain behind to allow the others to escape. Aikune asked if Mirumoto Rosanjin could ensure that the egg be returned to the Phoenix Clan, and Rosanjin ordered Hitomi Maya to do so. When Maya arrived at Nikesake to deliver the egg the Master of Void Shiba Ningen sensed the egg's arrival. Maya was brought before Ningen, Shiba Naoya and Isawa Ochiai by Masakazu, and she delivered to them the news of the Emperor's death and the sacrifice of Aikune. The egg was handed to Ningen who examined it, revealing it to be the Egg of the Void, a way in which humans could become one with the Dragons. Following the Khan Moto Chagatai's assault upon the Capital in 1169, the Phoenix Clan marched to the capital to separate the fighting forces and end the bloodshed. Isawa Ochiai used the Egg of the Void to summon the Fire Dragon, whose presence seemed to enforce the Phoenix' wish for the fighting to end. The Truest Test, Part III Scorpion Clan Shosuro Aroru brought a scroll to the Scorpion Clan. The sensei of the Dojo of the Closed Eye, Soshi Yukimi examined the scroll, discovering it was a Black Scroll. She also deduced that the scroll had never been opened, meaning it was not one of the original twelve scrolls created by Isawa on the Day of Thunder. Bayushi Paneki ordered that it be placed in the custody of the Kuroiban. It was studied by Soshi Natsuo and Soshi Korenaga, who were unable to determine what the scroll was connected to. In an attempt to gain more insight, Natsuo opened the scroll in northern Crab lands revealing that the being it was restraining was in some remote part of the world far from Rokugan. The scroll ravaged Natsuo's body as if it was tainted, but no taint was present in his body. The Essence of Loyalty, by Shawn Carman and Nancy Sauer The scroll was later identified to be the Essence of Jigoku. Essence of Jigoku Unicorn Clan Moto Chen returned from the Shadowlands with a small jade model of a kobune. He presented it upon his arrival in Unicorn lands to the Unicorn Clan Champion Moto Chagatai. The shugenja Horiuchi Rikako reacted strongly to the model when it was uncovered, and recognized it as a symbolf of Suitengu, the Fortune of the Seas. She explained that legends claim that Suitengu would travel between Ningen-do and Tengoku on a vessel known as the Heavenly Kobune of Suitengu. Rikako thought the model was a small fragment of that vessel, that was broken off during a battle between Suitengu and a great water demon. Chagatai placed the model in the care of Moto Tsusung, who he tasked with discovering the uses of the model. When Tsusung was unable to reveal any new information about the kobune, Rikako suggested they enlist the aid of the Mantis Clan. Rikako met with the Moshi Daimyo Moshi Amika and revealed to her the Kobune. The two shugenja used the powers of the Kobune to sail among the stars, and enlisted the aid of Yoritomo to seek out Otaku Kamoko. Kamoko and Yoritomo then traveled to the court of Tengoku to act as the voices of the Unicorn and Mantis Clans respectively. Sailing the Heavens, by Shawn Carman The Lost Daigotsu Rekai recovered a box. The box contained sand from the Burning Sands, but the sand was stolen by the Nezumi Tik'tch. The powers of the sand and the Scarab Case itself were not known, although the Ghul Lord was extremely fascinated by the box. The case attracted the attention of the Monkey Man, who came to Daigotsu with a warning of great danger approaching Rokugan. A Container of Sand, by Rusty Priske Nezumi The Nezumi Oh-krch found an hourglass. Oh'krch brought the hourglass back to a nearby warren where it was presented to the Chief of Chiefs Kan'ok'ticheck and the shaman Atch-zin. The two nezumi examined the hourglass, which caused a tingling sensation when touched. Atch-zin conluded that it was Tomorrow, and the hourglass was therefore called Tomorrow's Hourglass. Kan'ok'ticheck and Atch-zin both had a disturbing experience with the hourglass but would not tell what it was. The Magic of the Hourglass was used by the shaman Mak'irtch to allow almost the entire Nezumi race enter the realm of dreams and aid the Transcendents fight against Tomorrow. While they were successful in beating Tomorrow they were unable to return to their bodies, leaving no more than fifty Nezumi left alive in the world. Tomorrow, (Imperial Herald v.2 #22) Category:Nemuranai